Patients who visit hospital at weekends are more likely to die, UCL researchers find

Weekend deaths: A stock picture of ambulances outside St Thomas' Hospital. UCL research shows patients admitted to British hospitals on Friday, Saturday or Sunday are more likely to die within 30 days than those admitted during the week Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

People who are admitted to hospital at weekends are more likely to die than if they are admitted during the week, worrying new research by UCL has found.

The claims, based on a study of 15 million patients, are published in the British Medical Journal.

UCL, alongside University Hospital Birmingham researchers, found an average of 11,000 more people every year die within a month after being taken to hospital on weekend days, compared with other days of the week.

Even taking into account the fact people admitted at weekends tend to be sicker, the experts said there was still a "clear association" between weekend admissions and worse patient outlook.

They said "services inside and outside the hospital are reduced" at weekends, despite the fact there are more emergency admissions on Saturdays and Sundays.

Hospital services "are usually reduced from late Friday through the weekend, leading to disruption on Monday morning", they added. “There is evidence that junior hospital doctors feel clinically exposed during the weekend and that hospital chief executives are concerned about levels of weekend cover."

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the research supported his call for seven-day working across the NHS.

But Dr Mark Porter, head of the British Medical Association, accused Mr Hunt of “undermining” doctors by calling “for the entire NHS to be delivered on a seven-day basis without any clear prioritisation”.

"The BMA wants better access to seven-day urgent and emergency care to be the priority for investment,” he said.

"This will ensure seriously ill patients receive the best care at all times."

Royal College of Surgeons president Clare Marx added: "It is clear patients who need treating at the weekend are less likely to be seen by the right mix of junior and senior staff.

"Many doctors and NHS staff already work at nights and weekends and they should be valued and thanked for continuing to provide care during those unsocial hours.

"However, the evidence shows that this is not currently standard practice even in high risk emergency care. This has to change."